Dec. 31, 2012

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South Carolina Notes

Tampa, Fla. – The No. 11/10 South Carolina Gamecocks (10-2, 6-2 SEC) face the No. 19/22 Michigan Wolverines (8-4, 6-2 Big Ten) in the 2013 Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla. on Tuesday, January 1. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET. The 2013 Outback Bowl will be televised nationally on ESPN with Mike Tirico providing the play-by-play, Jon Gruden handling the color commentary and Shannon Spake on the sidelines. ESPN Radio will also have the call with Carter Blackburn and John Congemi in the booth and Jemele Hill on the sidelines. The game can be heard on Sirius/XM channel 85. A trio of former Gamecock greats handle the radio call for the Gamecock Sports Network. Todd Ellis is the play-by-play voice with 2009 SEC Legend Tommy Suggs providing the color commentary, while former NFL lineman Langston Moore works the sidelines.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Jan. 1
Kickoff: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Tampa, Fla.
Stadium: Williams-Brice Stadium (65,857)
Series: Series is tied 1-1
TV: ESPN
RADIO Flagship – 107.5 FM “The Game” & the IMG Network

BEST ERA AT CAROLINA: The Gamecocks will be looking to match their school record for wins in a season at the Outback Bowl with 11, set last year. Carolina has already set school records for most wins in back-to-back seasons (21), three-straight seasons (30) and four-straight seasons (37). The 2012 senior class is the third-straight senior class to set the school record for wins during its four-year career.

THE HEAD BALL COACH: Steve Spurrier is in his eighth season directing the Gamecock football program. He has logged a 65-37 mark (.637) in Columbia. The Head Ball Coach is Carolina’s winningest coach with 65 victories, one more than Rex Enright’s 64, and is second in games coached with 102, behind only Enright (140). Spurrier owns a 207-77-2 mark (.727) in 23 seasons as a collegiate head coach, with previous stops at Duke and Florida. Coach Spurrier is also the winningest coach at Florida with 122 victories. The legendary Bear Bryant (60 at Kentucky and 232 at Alabama) is the only other coach to own the most wins at two SEC schools.

TOPS IN HIS FIELD: Steve Spurrier became the 71st head college football coaches (all divisions) and the 22nd in Division I history to record 200 wins when he accomplished that feat against UAB. He ranks fourth among active Division I coaches with 207 wins. In addition, the HBC has 47 wins as a head coach at the professional level, giving him 254 career coaching wins.

NUMBER CHANGE: A pair of Gamecock wide receivers will don new uniform numbers for this contest. Nick Jones will dress in number 5, while Damiere Byrd will wear number 10.

IT’S UNANIMOUS: University of South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is a unanimous first-team All-American. He was named to the first-team unit by the Associated Press, Walter Camp, FWAA, AFCA and Sporting News. He is just the second Gamecock in history to earn unanimous first-team honors, joining Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers (1980). 1980 also marks the last time that South Carolina defeated Michigan, as Rogers carried 36 times for 142 yards in a 17-14 Gamecock win in Ann Arbor.

SEND IN CLOWNEY: Sophomore Jadeveon Clowney was the winner of the 2012 Hendricks Award, which honors the nation’s best defensive end. He was the first sophomore to win the award. Clowney, who finished sixth for the Heisman, was also a finalist for the Nagurski, Rotary Lombardi and Bednarik awards.

FOUR CONSENSUS: The Gamecocks have had four consensus All-Americans. Jadeveon Clowney joins George Rogers (1980), Del Wilkes (1984) and Melvin Ingram (2011) on that elite list.

FOUR IN A ROW: The Gamecocks have had a first-team All-American in four-consecutive seasons. Jadeveon Clowney adds his name to the list that includes Eric Norwood (2009), Alshon Jeffery (2010) and Melvin Ingram (2011).

RECORD SACK?: The Gamecocks are tied for fifth in the country in sacks with 40, just one shy of the school record of 41, set in the 14-game 2010 season. Jadeveon Clowney leads the way with a school-record 13.0 sacks, second in the nation. He is also second in the nation with a school-record 21.5 tackles for loss.

TOP-TWENTY D: The Gamecock defense, under Lorenzo Ward ranks in the top-20 in the country in all four categories: total defense (12), scoring defense (13), rushing defense (15) and passing defense (17).

ACE IS NUMBER ONE: Junior Ace Sanders earned co-SEC Special Teams Player of the Year accolades by the league’s coaches and was a second-team Phil Steele All-American after setting a school record with 363 punt return yards. He averaged 14.5 yards per return with seven returns of 27 yards or more.

MARCUS GOES PRO: Standout junior running back Marcus Lattimore announced at a press conference on December 12 that he will forego his senior season and cast his lot in the 2013 NFL Draft. Lattimore had his season end prematurely when he suffered a severe right knee injury against Tennessee on October 27. It was the second-straight year in which Lattimore suffered a season-ending knee injury. Lattimore leaves as one of the Gamecock all-time greats. He finished his career with 2,677 rushing yards, sixth on Carolina’s all-time list. He is the school record-holder in both rushing touchdowns (38) and touchdowns scored (41). He ranks fourth in rushing attempts (555), third in points scored (246 – most among non-kickers) and tied for second in 100-yard rushing games (11).

POSTSEASON HONORS
Jerell Adams
Coaches – SEC All-Freshman

Jadeveon Clowney
AFCA – 1st-team All-American
Associated Press – 1st-team All-American
FWAA – 1st-team All-American
Sporting News – 1st-team All-American
Walter Camp – 1st-team All-American
ESPN.com – 1st-team All-American
CBSSports.com – 1st-team All-American
FoxSportsNext.com – 1st-team All-American
Phil Steele – 1st-team All-American
Coaches – SEC Defensive Player of the Year
Associated Press – 1st-team All-SEC
Coaches – 1st-team All-SEC
Phil Steele – 1st-team All-SEC
Hendricks Award – Winner
Nagurski Trophy – Finalist
Rotary Lombardi Award – Finalist
Bednarik Award – Finalist

T.J. Gurley
Coaches – SEC All-Freshman

T.J. Johnson
Coaches – 2nd-team All-SEC
Phil Steele – 2nd-team All-SEC

Marcus Lattimore
Associated Press – Honorable Mention All-SEC
Phil Steele – 3rd-team All-SEC

Ace Sanders
Phil Steele – 2nd-team All-American (PR)
CBSSports.com – Third-team All-American (PR)
Coaches – Co-SEC Special Teams Player of the Year
Associated Press – 2nd-team All-SEC (AP)
Coaches – 1st-team All-SEC (RS)
Coaches – 2nd-team All-SEC (AP)
Phil Steele 1st-team All-SEC (PR)

Brandon Shell
FoxSportsNext – 1st-team Freshman All-American
Phil Steele – 1st-team Freshman All-American
Coaches – SEC All-Freshman

D.J. Swearinger
Associated Press – 2nd-team All-SEC
Coaches – 2nd-team All-SEC
Phil Steele – 2nd-team All-SEC

Devin Taylor
Phil Steele – 3rd-team All-SEC